The SOCIAL REPORT from Brian Delaney

Dear Members,
In what looks like the start of an annual occasion we again had a social club night of dining alfresco at the Mi Thai restaurant in October at Lennox Head. Once again we ordered a banquet with some variations suggested by Mel. Oh, it was all so good; everyone loved the variety, the weather was great again and so were the conversations. See you there next year.

This month's social night will be at Wicked Restaurant on the corner of Kerr and Tamar Streets in Ballina across the road from the Ballina Council chambers. The date is Friday, 13th Nov. at 6:30 pm. Wazza gave us a synopsis about Wicked at last Sunday's comp. He said the entres are about $16, the mains about $26 and desserts about $12. The servings are large, interesting and delicious. For some people the entres are enough, he said. It is a b.y.o restaurant. Waz said the restaurant is popular and we need firm numbers. We can't guess at how many of us will be there. I have to contact the restaurant this Saturday afternoon, 7th Nov, so that is the cut off time. If you would like to join the 15 already going please phone me on 6628 5317 or email me at delaney@aapt.net.au before then.

The annual club prize presentation will be held in the afternoon of our last comp day on the 6th December at the Cherry St Club (Ballina Bowling Club), our major sponsor, at 3:00 pm, and will finish at 5:30 pm. The Malibu club will be providing finger food free for members and their guests during the above hours and we will be in the private function room. If we have enough people attending the bowling club will open up a bar near the function room. Following the end of the preso some members and guests are staying on for a chinese dinner in the dining room. This year we will need confirmed numbers for the prize preso, because unlike previous years where we have had it at a member's home and it has been self catering - b.y.o everything, we have to give the bowling club the numbers to cater for. So at last sunday's comp I started a list of members coming for the preso only or preso and dinner. Please contact me at the phone and email addresses given above and let me know if you are coming for preso only or both. I have to know by Sunday, 15th Nov in order to secure the function room. Sunday 6th Dec, the comp morning, is too late.

Whew!, got all that? This organised life needs lots of surf breaks in between to stay mellow.

See you in the surf.
Brian D.

COMPETITON UPDATE

The November competition round had a good turn up with 21 surfers competing in challenging conditions. The waves were small and uneven with an inconsistent right-hander on the beach break in front. Very little action on the point this month. The competition ended in an upset with Wazza making a big comeback winning the day and Grant slipping in second with Frank hot on his heels. Well done Wazza! Worthy of special mention was Kerry coming first in the forths against some tough competition. Well done Kerry!

El Presidente decided to roll both rounds out sequentially this month and to hold off on the BBQ until after both rounds had been completed. His decision turned out to be a good one as the onshore breeze had only increased throughout the morning. So the Crew enjoyed a few hot sangas (Thanks Col!) and nice cold beers (Thanks Brian!) in the car park after the competition had finished. All very civilized! You could see joe-public walking past casting an eye over the gathering and thinking "This crew knows how to enjoy life!".

See the image gallery for all the pics and live footage...

The judging tent with Col, Pete, Brain, Ken, & Brian

Hot snags and ice cold beers after the comp. Ooh yea!

Mel & Kerry enjoying someone else's cooking!

COMPETITION RESULTS

Judging Criteria for Competition Rounds

The judging criteria is now available online. A decision was made this year to limit the number of waves a surfer can catch per heat to 5 waves. We will be discussing this more with members at the first comp in 2010.

We invite suggestions from members regarding practical methods of improving our ability to apply the judging criteria. Some suggestions to date include:

• online video examples of waves and their scores,
• judging clinics

If you have an other ideas we'd like to hear them.

Evans Head Longboard Invitational

Evans Head’s Main Beach presented a carnival atmosphere over the October long weekend as the 18th Longboard Invitational was played out in warm sunshine with large crowds enjoying the 4-day program of surfing and social events. The event culminated on the Monday with an amazing 11 finals, plus the added attractions of a spectacular ‘Sandology’ sandcastle exhibition and vibrant beachside markets. The annual event is presented by the Evans Head Over 8s Malibu Club and has raised over $35,000 for charity since its inception. Congratulations to Eric Walker on his first place in the over 55's.

Next Club Round

Our next club round is on Sunday 6th December.

PIC OF THE DAY

Each month we feature the best picture taken on the day.

Roger, Grant, Frank, and Marg make a fit looking crew!. How's Marg's snarl?- kinda sexy!

Mi Thai Winner

Sorry no Mi Thai $25 voucher this month

TRAVEL REPORT

Col Woodbry shares his 2009 trip to Bali.

Bali 2009 by Colin Woodbry

This year we traveled again to Bali & Indo to chase warm water and some great waves. We were not disappointed as when we got there the surf was 10 - 12 ft plus, closing out the breaks, so we travelled 2 hours north of Kuta to Medewi on the North West Coast of Bali. It is a left with good form breaking over river stone rock bottom. Length of the ride can vary between 50 to 150 metres depending on the wave. Best ridden between 3 to 6 ft with an incoming tide. We surfed there for a couple of days.

Medewi lefts.... nice and cruisy!

We then surf in front of our accommodation at Balian, Villa Tranquil (Recommend highly) - 1/2 hr south of Medewi for the rest of our trip. At Balian - there are 3 main waves - 2 rights and one big left. The left and right forming off each peak as it comes in. Take your choice. There is also a right at the river mouth. There is always a good channel and current to get you out and around on the main left.

Accommodation right at the break... now that's pretty cool!

The right handers often have the better form with some tubing and hot dog sections. The waves can break from 300 to 500 metres out depending on the swell size. The bigger the swell the further out it breaks. Waves are best between 3 ft up to 10 ft. Average length of wave is between 100 to 200 metres.

A hot Bali left goes unridden...

Please email the secretary if you have an interesting travel story.

MEMBER PROFILE

Col Woodbry

Name: Colin Woodbry

Family: Wife - Libby, Children - Zoe & Brendan

Origins: Sydney North Shore - (Born in Canberra)

Current job: Business Manager - North Coast Holiday Parks.

Surfboard(s): 7'6", 6'10" and 9' mal.

Natural or Goofy footer: Natural.

Best Job you ever had: Sailing Instructor.

Musical Preference: A variety of styles - Sting

Movie Preference: Action

Fav. Surf Movie: Morning of the Earth

Fav. Non Surf Sport: Rugby Union or Golf

Fav. Grog: Corona or Bintang

Fav. Surfer: Too many good ones out there, both old & new.

Best Surf Holiday: Everywhere I've been that's had good surf - Noosa or Indo

Fav. TV show: Westwing

Nickname & why: Woody, or “To tall”- wrong height in a program 6’9” instead of 5’9”

What I hate most: Rude people.

Where and when was the best surf you ever had: Too many - Indo, Noosa & Hawaii

Age when you started surfing on a board: 7 - foamie @ Collaroy

Before you had a car, where did you surf most: Collaroy or Sunshine Beach

How many overseas surf trips: 3 only for surf & Lots as part of travelling - not enough

Where was your first ever surf on a surfboard: Collaroy

My Dream surf trip: Any where there is great waves

NEWSLETTER & NEW WEB SITE

All club newsletters can now be accessed via the web site and viewed online. Members who have provided their email addresses to the secretary will receive an email each month containing a link to the newsletter. The Committee urges all members to take advantage of the web site and register their email address. Members without an email address will still receive a printed copy via surface mail. Members interested in submitting stories for inclusion in our monthly newsletter should Email submissions to secretary@ballinamalibuclub.org

MEMBERS CLASSIFIEDS

Items for sale (eg. used surfboards, surfing-related items etc) may be listed free of charge by members. Members are invited to lodge advertisements by Email to the Secretary. Please include a description, asking price, contact details, and preferably a color photograph of the item(s) for sale.